We didn't know how LARGE the differences were between Catholicism and Protestantism b
We went to each others services regularly before getting married, and both services are relatively similar. Neither really gets into some of the doctrine of the particular faith during services. Since getting married, we have both become more aware of some of the teachings of both churches that we were unaware of before marriage. For me, the Marian Doctrine is a huge issue. For her, predestination is a huge issue. There are other issues between the two as well, i just noted those to show we both have issues with each others denomination's teachings.
Whatever she chooses to believe is fine and vice verse. The issue really comes into play, when we consider having kids. Neither of us want the kids to be taught some of the others doctrines. Currently we have no kids, and this is the religious issues are what keeps us from having them.
Is there any way to handle this other than divorce?
Martin Luther once described human beings as being "snow-covered dung heaps", where as catholic theology thinks of human beings as being "dung-covered snow-heaps".
In other words, protestantism tends to adhere to a philosophy that we are basically evil and can only be saved through the grace of Jesus. Whereas, catholic philosophy tends to adhere to the idea that sin is what tarnishes our basic goodness and sin can only be conquered through a free willingness to accept Jesus.
So, without advocating one over the other, which basic ideas would your wife and you prefer?
For me, right at this moment, a bowl of ice cream is something I want to believe in. Anyone have chocolate sprinkles?
The compromise is you both teach your kids both.
My wife teaches our kids about Catholicism and I teach them about Atheism and the kids can make up their own mind about what they want to believe.
If YOU really were enlightened than you would realize that all catholics have been used by the church to control them and you could free yourself of it all by just having a personal relationship with God.
I too was catholic but I realized that it is all about control. They successfully have controlled people for centuries by false doctrine. Only by freeing yourself from the bonds of organized religion can you find freedom to worship as you desire.
If anything ever came from King Henry the 8Th it was breaking away from a dominating catholic doctrine. He saw that the Pop was no better than anyone else. Their beliefs are used to tailor their followers into what they want them to be.
So, if you can digest this information then you would have no problem with faith with your husband.
I escaped the chains of bondage that the Catholic doctrine attempts to bind us and have found release through a personal relationship with God.
It is pretty obvious that neither of you underwent any premarital counseling before you married. And you clearly were not married in a Catholic church. I always find it very interesting when people who dispense with all the church teachings and rules suddenly get very devout and panicky when it comes to which church the kids will be raised in. People have been working these problems out for centuries. What I see here is two people who are very stubborn and unwilling to give in to the other. Have either of you discussed this together with your spiritual leaders? I would not get too caught up in the dogma and minutia of any religion. That seems to be where everyone gets into trouble.
The important thing is that your children have salvation and that they recognize the authority of the Bible. So teach them about the need to receive the gift of Christ's death and resurrection, about leading a holy life to the best of their ability and about the truth of God's word. The peripheral things are just that. I personally believe that all denominations can learn from each other. I also believe that if a priest or pastor says anything contrary to the scripture, they are wrong. Scripture is the final word. There are very few things in the Bible that can be "interpreted" two ways. One thing that has no other meaning is, "I am the truth, the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Focus on that and then teach your children to love all Christians regardless of their peripheral beliefs.
Also, I know that Catholics and Protestants have slightly different Bibles. Buy both of them and have the children be fluent in both. There's a book called "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" which will teach them how leaders back in the day chose which scripts were to be part of the Bible. This way they can make their decisions regarding which Bible suits them. Teach them the differences in each. Again, the important issue is the person-hood of Christ and the requirements for salvation.
We didn't know how LARGE the differences were between Catholicism and Protestantism b
